Why does Buckner practice open adoption?
Buckner recorded its first adoption in 1884. We have learned a lot about adoption since then – from those who have lived it, from the research that has been done in the field and from continually striving to facilitate adoptions that best meet the needs of the children that God brings to our ministry. At Buckner we believe that birth families and adoptive families are all a part of God’s plan for a child who joins his or her family by adoption. A child need not give up connections to one family in order to gain another.
It is essential that prospective adoptive parents know that open adoption is not shared parenting. Open adoption is about relationships. Open adoption allows the birth parents to select the family for their child and to entrust their child to the adoptive parents to raise.
Open adoption honors the birth parents for their giving life; it honors the adoptive family for sustaining that life, and it allows both families to affirm that child’s life through lifelong connections.
I'm surprised about the cost of adoption. What is the fee actually going toward?
As a child-centered ministry, Buckner’s goal is to serve pregnant women and their unborn children in such a way that the children’s lives are affirmed, and that they are parented in the best way possible. Thus, we serve a large number of pregnant women who inquire about adoption but who, after counseling or getting information from us, decide to continue to seek a way to parent. Only a small percentage of the clients we serve actually make adoption plans for their unborn babies (although almost all decide to give LIFE!). We provide these services at no cost. Therefore, the fees we charge adoptive parents must cover the services to all the pregnant women, not just the one whose baby they adopt. Indeed, prospective adoptive parents who work with us become a part of Buckner’s ministry to all pregnant women and their unborn babies.
Can you tell me how long your waiting list is? What is the usual waiting time? How long from the time we start the process until a baby is placed with us?
It is almost impossible to give a precise time line. However, the average wait for our couples is about 18 months from the time the home study is completed. The home study itself takes about three months from the time we receive all the documents from the prospective adoptive parents and their references.
If we are not comfortable with open adoption, could we just wait until you have a birthmother who does not want an open adoption?
Because we educate our birthmothers about the benefits of open adoption to their children, we have few clients who decline to participate to some degree in an open adoption. Even more important is the fact that we can tell them that ANY family they choose will always be available when they decide to participate fully. We can say that because our families become convinced, based on current research and education, that relationships with their children’s birth families are in the children’s best interest.
We live out of state. Will you work with us for placement of a baby?
Ordinarily, we do not look outside of the state of Texas to place children. However, we are not always able to find families in Texas for our children of African American heritage and children with special medical needs. Therefore, if you live in a neighboring state and are considering a child of African American heritage, or feel you are able to consider a child with special needs, we would welcome your consideration of our program.
We want to adopt, but we don't have to have a baby. Do you have toddlers and preschoolers who need families?
Because our program works with women during their pregnancies, it is very rare that we would have a toddler or preschool child available for placement.
Can we select the gender of the child we wish to adopt?
Because prospective birth parents choose the prospective adoptive family, it is not possible to request a particular gender of child. Our families need to be open to either a male or female child, as the prospective birth parents may not know the gender of their child, and would need to know that a prospective adoptive family would welcome their child, regardless of the child’s gender.
Do you have any age requirements?
For our infant program, couples must be at least 25 years of age. The difference in the child’s age and that of one parent should be no more than 45 years.
Does Buckner have any income requirements?
No, we do not require you make a certain income. The family shall have financial security appropriate for their age, occupation and the community in which they live. Their income should be sufficient for the normal additional expenses incurred by adding a child to their family, paying the adoption fees and the legal expenses for finalizing the adoption.
Must we be a certain denomination to adopt through Buckner?
Buckner requires all of our prospective adoptive parents be Christian; denomination is not an issue.
Do you place with single parents?
Since the reality is that most of the birth families that choose adoption want their children to have two parents, Buckner only accepts applications from single prospective parents on a case-by-case basis. We tell prospective single parents that there is no guarantee of placement, and it will most likely be a longer wait than would be expected for a married couple.
